Drilling apparatus



May 15, 1934. G. P. THOMAS 1,958,552

DRILLING APPARATUS Filed April 19, 1932 4 Shee a u i j I WITNESSES N INVENTOR May 15, 1934. G P. THOMAS DRILLING APPARATUS Filed April 19', 1932 4 Sheets-She t 2 t\ w \11 o 5 INVENTOR WITNESSES May 15, 1934. H M 1,958,552

DRILLING APPARATUS Filed April 19, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 WITNESSES gg INVENTOR Wad ace. WJZWM/ QdW Patented May 15, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

8 Claims.

This invention relates to drilling apparatus and especially to a machine of the adjustable multiple drill type which, while not necessarily so limited, is adapted for use more particularly for drilling holes in structural blanks, such as plates, beams, angles, and the like.

The primary object of the invention, generally stated, is to provide a machine of the aforementioned character which is simple and sturdy of structure, easy and efiicient to operate, and adapt-- ed to be easily and quickly adjusted for operating on a wide variety of different classes of work.

A more particular object is to provide for facilitating the adjusting, driving and general oporation of such machines with the end in view of increasing the speed and efficiency thereof, as well as the general effectiveness and field of usefulness.

These and numerous other objects, together with the various: other novel features and advantages of the invention, will be apparent when the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a multiple drill machine constructed in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2' a horizontal section of the same taken on the line IIII of Fig. 1, but showing the drill heads by dotted lines in adjusted position; Fig. 3 a side elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 a plan view looking upwardly into the base of one of the drill heads; Fig. 5 a section taken on the line V-V of Fig. 1 illustrating the details of the drill head. adjusting mechanism; Fig. 6 a vertical section through one of the drill heads on the line VI-VI of Fig. 1; Fig. 7 a vertical section taken through one of the adjustable spindle bearing. supports provided in the bases of. the drill heads; Figs. 8 and 9 plan views, respectively, of the latter bearing support taken on the W line VIIIVIII of Fig. 7 and illustrating it in a bearing releasing and engaging position, respectively; Fig. 10 a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line X-X of Fig. 6, illustrating the releasable mounting of the. adjustable spindle bearing supports in the drill head housing; Fig. 11 a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the drilling machine proper shown in Fig. 1, but illustrating a modified form. of work-engaging clamp; and Fig. 1.2 a series of illustrations showing different types of work for which the machine may be readily employed...

Referring now in detail to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, the numeral l designates generally the frame proper of the machine. This frame, although it may obviously take other shapes, as illustrated here is made up of a pair of endforming uprightly disposed I-sections 2 and 3 which are anchored at their lower ends in a concrete base 4 and tied together at their upper ends by a cross beam 5 also 6i} of I-section. Adjacent the front faces of these uprights there is provided a drill head supporting. beam or carrier 6 which is so mounted as to -permit its being reciprocated vertically. While other means may be utilized for reciprocating this carrier, as shown here, a pair of hydraulic engines are. employed for such purpose. These engines: comprise a pair of cylinders 7 and 8 which are suitably mounted adjacent the end uprights of the frame and pistons not shown which are con- 7 nected by rods 9 and 11 to brackets 12 and 13, respectively, that in turn are rigidly secured to carrier 6 adjacent the outer edges of the two uprights. Consequently by controlling the flow of pressureto cylinders 7 and 8, the carrier may be moved upand down and while not shown, any suitable form of manual or automatic control system may be utilized for such purpose.

To counteract the weight of carrier 6 and thedrill heads and other devices mounted thereon so asto facilitate its movement, a pair of counterweights l4 and 15 is employed. These are located at the back of the uprights 2 and 3, and attached by cables 16 and 1'7 to the carrier, the cables being passed over pulleys 18 and 19 mounted on the top of the frame to facilitate their movement.

To compensate for the average unbalanced load on the carrier the weights are proportioned accordingly. To further aid in the minimizing of the effort required to move the carrier, a balancing shaft 21 is mounted in suitable bearings 22 attached to the webs of the uprights 2 and 3 just behind the carrier. On this shaft adjacent its ends there is rigidly keyed a pair of gears 23 which are disposed to mesh with a pair of gear racks 24 that are rigidly secured to the back of the carrier. These gear racks, as shown more particularly in Fig. 2, are formed on castings which have detachable flange plates attached to them which engage 1100 the flanges on the I-sections 2 and 3 and hold the carrier in position on the front of the uprights. With such a construction, as is obvious, the carrier is positively caused to travel in a-horizontal plane when it is moved by its actuating pistons. Consequently, binding between the rack castings 24 and the flanges of uprights 2 and 3, which may occur if the carrier were permitted to get outof' true, is prevented. The importance of this feature will be most fully appreciated when consideration 1.10

is given to the unbalanced load conditions to which the carrier is subjected.

On the carrier there is mounted for adjustment lengthwise thereof between uprights 2 and 3 a pair of drill heads 25 and 26. However, as will be readily apparent, the number of these heads may be increased or decreased in accordance with the invention to comply with different operating requirements. In the instant machine these heads each comprise a housing 27 which is mounted on the front of the carrier, being supported on the upper flange'thereof by a shoulder 28 which extends over the flange and rests on a wear plate or track 29 mounted on the top edge of the carrier. Another shoulder 31 is provided on housing 2'? to ride on a wear plate 32 provided on the lower edge of the carrier. To hold the heads in place on their support, shoulders 31 are tapered upwardly and Wear plates 32 downwardly to form a sort of dovetailed engagement, and a flange 33 is bolted to shoulder 28 in a manner to engage the back of wear plate 29.

In each of the drill head housings there are provided four drill spindle assemblies, although the number may be varied. These are each so made as to allow their being varied in length to permit lateral adjustment of their lower ends as will presently appear, and comprise a driving end 34 which is extended through bearing openings in the bottom of a globe part 35 of the head and a middle plate 36 secured between the lower half 35a of the globe section and its upper half 351) which is bolted thereto. Between plate 36 and the bottom of globe 35 a gear 3'7 is mounted on the spindle ends 34 and meshed with a group driving gear 38 which is mounted on a stub shaft 39 supported in the globe bottom 35a and the plate 36 and equipped at its upper end with a driving worm gear 31. At the bottom of the spindle ends 34 they 5 are connected by universal joints 42 to connecting I of the spindles are disposed. For releasably holding the drills .51 which are secured to the spindles, the spindles are provided with suitable screw clamps 52.

In order that drills of diiferent length may be used and also so that the drills may be adjusted to operate on different horizontal planes such as may which is rounded at one end, open at its top, and provided with a longitudinal slot 54 in its bottom.

In this shell a block 55 is provided. This block has an inwardly curved outer face 55a and is adapted to be forced against the bearing 47 to clamp it in turn against the outer end of the shell, and to improve the grip between the shell and the bearing they are both serrated on their engaging surfaces 56 and 57. To provide for moving block 55, a threaded fitting 58 is mounted in the outer end of shell 53, and in this a screw 59 is threadably engaged, the inner end of the screw being fitted in a guide hole 61 and equipped with a shoulder which engages the rear end of the block.

To provide for laterally adjusting the drills with respect to each other, the supports 48 are adjustably connected to the bottom of the head housing 27. Toward this end, rectangular slots 62 and 63 are provided in the bottom of housing 27 adjacent the front and rear edges thereof, respectively, and in these the heads 64a of bolts 64 are engaged, the bolts proper being extended downwardly through the openings 54 in the bottoms of the shells 53 and registering with opening 65 provided in the blocks 55 and equipped at their lower ends with handwheel 66 by which the whole assembly is clamped in place. With this arrangement, by merely loosening the wheels 66 the spindles, by means of their lower bearing supports, may be adjusted laterally at will both toward and away from the opposite edges of the rectangular opening 49, the universal joints 42 and 45 and the splined shafts 43 and 44 permitting such adjustment without interfering with the drive of the spindles.

For driving the drills, a motor 71 is mounted on an extension of the carrier 6, and to simplify the for driving and at the same time provide for the adjustment of the drill heads on the carrier, the drive shaft 72 operated by this motor is extended through the covers 351) of heads 25 and 26 with its ends suitably supported in bracketed bearings 315 .5 '73 and 74. Inside of the covers 352), worms 75 are splinably mounted on this shaft and meshed with the worm gears 41. Hence they provide a driving connection for the spindles which does not in any way interfere with the lateral adjustment of the H drill heads. For varying the speed of the drills a gear change unit '76 may be provided, as well as any suitable control system, not shown, for motor 11. Due to the added load occasioned by motor '71 and the gear unit 76, the counterbalanc- 15 ing weight 13 is made larger than weight 14 to compensate for the additional load at that end of the carrier 6.

To provide for adjusting both of the drill heads, either individually or together, they each have 121 shifting rods 77 and '78, respectively, pivotally attached to them. These rods are provided with gear racks 77a and 78a on their opposed faces, and mounted, as shown more particularly in Fig. 6, out of vertical alignment with each other and 5 with their free ends extended over a wide gear '79 which is mounted on a stub shaft 81 that in turn is slidably mounted in a bracket 82 secured to upright 2 and a bearing 83 provided in the Web of said upright. To hold the gear teeth on rods 7'7 and 78 in mesh with the adjusting gear 79 the rods are passed through a guide 84 mounted on the carrier 6 for that purpose, while for operating the adjusting gear a hand wheel 85 is keyed to the outer end of the stub shaft on which the gear is mounted. As will be obvious, when this handwheel is turned in a clockwise direction, it will operate the two shifting rods simultaneously to move the two drill heads apart, and when in a counterclockwise direction, will move them toward each other.

In order that the drill heads may be moved either together or independently of each other, the two shifting rods '77 and 78, as shown best in Figs. 5 and 6, are mounted in vertical staggered 145 relation and the adjusting gear 79 is made sufficiently wide to span both rods while shaft 81 is disposed slidably in its supports so that the gear may be moved out of engagement with either rod. Consequently when both rods are engaged 150 with the gear both head's may be moved in opposite directions, and when one red is engaged thereby only the head connected thereto. will respond to the turning of the. adjusting wheel 85-. To permit the sliding of the stub shaft 81 sufli' cien-t clearance is allowed between the handwheel; 81 and the adjusting. gear and similarly space is provided between the bracket and the bearing. 82' in which the shaft 81 is supported, while to hold the stub. shaft in a desired position alatch 86' is mounted in the bearing of bracket 80 to be engaged in annular grooves 87' provided in the stub. shaft, the. spacing of these grooves corresponding with the different positions of the adjusting gear.

Another feature of the invention relative to the adjustment of the drill heads resides in the provision of a rod 88 which is secured to head 25 and slidably extended through head 26-, This: rod is provided for rigidly connecting the two heads: together so that they can be both moved at the same time and in the same direction by the ad'- justing wheel when the adjusting gear is engaged with only one of the shifting rods 77 or '78.v To provide for making the connection between the two headsa hand screw 89 is provided in the bearing in head 26' through which the connecting rod 88 is slidably passed. This permits" the two headsbeing tied together at any spaced relation desired.

For manipulating the: work such as the plates 91 with respect tothe drill heads, a work table or similar carriage 92' is mounted for movement on a suitable track 93 secured to: the floor below thedrill heads and provided with suitable adjustable guides 94 for positioning the work thereon, theguides being suitably connected for adjustment by a hand wheel 95 located at one side of the carriage, while for holding the work clamped to the carriage a clamping beam 96 is mounted over the table on the piston rods 97 of a pair of pistons disposed in pressure cylinders 98- and 99 located adjacent the uprights 2 and 3 at the opposite sides of the carrier and like the cylinders 7 and 8" are provided with any suitable means not shown for controlling the operation.

As an illustration of a modified form of workclampi'ng mechanism which may be employed with the work table, reference may be had to- Fig. 1-1 wherein an assembly is shown which consistsof a clamping lever 1 01 which is pivotally and slidably connected at one end to a shaft 102 mounted on the rear face of the frame uprights 2 and 3 and similarly mounted midway between its twoends on an operating shaft 1-03, that is, mounted at its opposite ends on the lower ends of a pair of piston rods I04 connected to pistons disposed to operate in hydraulic cylinders 105 and 106- attached to the inner faces of the webs of the frame uprights 2 and 3. Withthis arrangement, as in the previously described assembly, the clamping of the work may be controlled in accordance with the controlof the pressuresupplied to cylinders I05 and 106, and this may be accomplished in any suitable fashion. Furthermore, any desired number of levers 101 may be mounted on the shafts 1-02 and 1-03' and thesereadily adjusted to any position desired by the operator, and any suitable means utilized for positively holding them in such position.

Referring now to the operation of the machine, assume for example it is desired to drill a series of columns of holes in one or more plates such as shown on the work carriage in the drawing. To attain this end the plate or plates are first loaded on the carriage and properly positioned and clamped in: place by the guides 9d and the clamping beam 96.. The carriage is then run below the drill heads for drilling. Before starting the drilling, and while the heads are in a non-workengaging position, they are moved to their drilling positions by the adjustment of wheel 85,. Thereafter, the drill; spindles are adjusted laterall y by loosening the wheels 66 and moving the bearing supports 48' to desiredpositions and then retightening said wheel's. When this is done, to insure the drills 51, if of uneven length, all en'- gaging the work at the same time, the screws 59' are loosened and the carrier 6. lowered until. all of the drills touch the work. With the lower ends of the drills thusbrought in horizontal. alignment the screws: 59- are tightened and the motor 71 started. As soon as a set of holes are completed by the drills when the heads are in the full positions shown in- Fig. 2, the carrier 6 is raised and the head-adjusting wheel turned counterclockwise until the heads are in the dotted position and the drilling operation repeated.

With the completion of this operation the carri'er is reraised the carriage advanced, and the carrier rel'owered. After such drilling is completed the carrier is again raised and the heads moved back totheir original positions and another drilling operation completed. This may, of course, all be done without stopping or in any way modifying the operation of the spindle mot-or 7-1 or the spindle driving connection, the advantage of which will be readily appreciated by those skilled inthe art. It will also be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that by reason of the laterally and axially adjustable features of the spindles together with the individual and combined head-adjusting features the machinev may be easily and readily adjusted for an innumerable number of different classes of work with considerable speed and efiiciency. As examples of a number of different forms of work to which the machine may be put, attention is directed tothe series of illustrations shown in Fig. 12.

According, to the provisions of the patent Statutes, I have explained the principle and mode of operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to'represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A drilling machine comprising a pair of spaced uprights, a beam mounted for vertical reciprocation on said frame, a pair of motorsmounted adjacent said uprights for moving said beam, a plurality of drill heads mounted for horizontal adjustment on said beam, a plurality of drill spindles in each head, a gear drive in each head for driving said spindles, a driving motor for saiddrills mounted on a portion of said beam pro-- jected beyond one of said uprights, and a drive shaft extended from said motor through said spindle heads and slidably keyed to the driving gears thereof.

2. A drilling machine comprising a pair of spaced uprights, a drill head-supporting beam mounted for vertical reciprocation on said uprights, a pair of motors arranged adjacent said uprights and connected to the opposite ends of said beam for moving it vertically, a plurality of drill heads mounted for horizontal adjustment along the length of said beam, a plurality of drill spindles and drills in each head, a gear drive in each head for said spindles, a motor mounted on a portion of said beam extended beyond one of said uprights, a drive shaft extended from said motor through said spindle heads and slidably keyed to the driving gears to permit the aforementioned adjustment of said spindle heads on said carrier, a work support adjustably mounted below said beam, a pair of motors disposed at 0pposite sides of said work support, and means operated by said motors for clamping the work to said work support to hold it in position when operated upon by said drills.

3. A drilling machine comprising a pair of spaced uprights, a drill head-supporting beam mounted for vertical reciprocation on said frame, means for moving said beam, means for maintaining said beam in horizontal alignment when moved, a pair of drill heads mounted for horizon tal adjustment on said carrier, a plurality of drill spindles in each head, a gear drive in each head for driving said spindles, a driving motor for said drills mounted on a portion of said beam extended beyond one of said upright, a drive shaft extended from said motor through said spindle heads and slidably keyed to the driving gears thereof, a shifting rod connected to each of said drill heads, a means for actuating both of said rods at the same time to thereby simultaneously adjust both of said drill heads.

4. A- drilling machine comprising an upright supporting frame, a drill head-supporting beam mounted for vertical reciprocation on said frame, means for moving said beam, a plurality of drill heads mounted for horizontal adjustment on said beam, a plurality of drill spindles in each head, a gear drive in each head for driving said spindles, a driving motor mounted on said beam for movement therewith, and a shaft mounted parallel with said beam slidably connected to said gear drives, a shifting rod provided with a series of teeth on one face thereof connected to each of said drill heads, said rods being supported in adjacent vertical planes, and a gear disposed to engage said teeth on said rods for adjusting both of said shifting rods being slidably mounted to engage both rods at the same time but adapted to be selectively disengaged from either at the will of the operator.

5. A drilling machine comprising a supporting frame, a drill head-supporting beam mounted for vertical reciprocation on said frame, means for moving said beam, a plurality of drill heads mounted for horizontal adjustment on said beam, a plurality of drill spindles 'in each head, a gear drive in each head for driving said spindles, a driving motor for said drills mounted on said carrier for movement therewith, a drive shaft extended from said motor through said spindleheads and slidably keyed to the driving gears thereof, laterally adjustable supports in said drill heads for the lower end of each of said drill spindles, means for lengthening and shortening said spindles to permit the lateral adjustment of said supports, bearings mounted in said spindle sup ports for each of said spindles, and clamping means in said supports for permitting the axial adjustment of said bearings.

6. A drilling machine comprising a supporting frame, a drill head-supporting beam mounted for vertical reciprocation on said frame, means for moving said beam, a plurality of drill heads mounted for horizontal adjustment on said beam, a plurality of drill spindles in each head, a gear drive in each head for driving said spindles, a driving motor for said drills mounted on said beam for movement therewith, a laterally adjustable support in said drill heads for the lower end of each of said drill spindles, means for length ening and shortening said spindles to permit the lateral adjustment of said supports, bearings mounted in said spindle supports for each of said spindles, and means in said supports for axially adjusting said bearings.

'7. A drilling machine comprising an upright supporting frame, a drill head supporting beam mounted for vertical reciprocation on said frame, power means for actuating said beam, means for counterbalancing the weight of said beam to facilitate its movement, means for guiding said beam in a horizontal plane when moved, a plurality of drill heads mounted for horizontal adjustment on said beam, a plurality of drill spindles in each head, a gear drive in each head for driving all the spindles provided therein, a driving motor for said drills mounted on said beam, a common drive shaft extended from said motor parallel with said beam through all of said spindle heads and slidably keyed to the driving gears thereof, means for collectively and selectively adjusting said drill heads on said carrier, laterally adjustable bearing supports in the base of said drill heads for engaging bearings mounted on the lower end of each of said drill spindles, means for lengthening and shortening said spindies to permit the lateral adjustment of said supports, and clamping means in said bearing supports for permitting axial adjustment of said bearings.

8. A drilling machine comprising an upright supporting frame, a drill head supporting beam mounted for vertical reciprocation on said frame, hydraulic engines operably coupled at the opposite ends of said frame to said beam for moving the latter, means for counterbalancing theload on the beam to facilitate its movement, means for guiding said beam in a horizontal plane whenmoved, a plurality of drill heads mounted for horizontal adjustment along the length of said beam, a plurality of drill spindles and drills in each head, a gear drive in eachhead for driving said spindles, a motor for driving said drills mounted on said beam, a common drive shaft extended parallel with said beam from said motor through all of said spindle heads and slidably keyed to the driving gears thereof, means for selectively and simultaneously adjusting said drill heads on said carrier, a laterally adjustable bearing support in the base of each of said drill heads for each of said spindles, a bearing mounted in each of said supports about said spindles, means for permitting the lengthening and shortening of said spindles to permit the lateral adjustment of said supports, and releasable means in said bearing supports for permitting the said spindle bearings being axially adjustable. 1

GEORGE P. THOMAS. 

